Honors Biomedical Sciences

The Honors Biomedical Sciences (HBS) Program is a rigorous Bachelor of Science degree for highly qualified students pursuing a career in health care. Created in partnership with University of Texas-McGovern and University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, it offers students a robust curriculum, with honors-level math and science classes along with the built-in Medicine & Society minor. Such coursework exposes HBS students not only to valuable research experience in the hard sciences, but also interdisciplinary work in the medical humanities that will encourage a deeper understanding of issues of health and disease from a variety of perspectives: social, historical, cultural, ethical, and more.

While housed in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, HBS is the only major at the University of Houston in which students are also required to be members of the Honors College.

From the foundational Human Situation course sequence to Honors courses in Chemistry, Biology, Genetics, the Medicine & Society minor, and more, its curriculum is designed to produce skilled communicators and critical thinkers engaged with both immediate and larger issues of medicine and illness -- resulting in well-rounded, competitive health professions candidates.

Required Personal Statement – In 350 words or fewer, introduce yourself to the committee by telling us how you can make a significant contribution to the program, The Honors College or NSM, the University, or the community. (submitted via online application or hbs@uh.edu)

Two Letters of Recommendation - Two letters of recommendation must be submitted directly by the recommender, from a school or business email, tohbs@uh.edu. One letter of recommendation must be from a high school teacher with whom you have taken a recent class, or from a school administrator who knows you well.

3/4 Program

The 3/4 Program is a highly competitive, accelerated BS/MD program within the Honors Biomedical Sciences major. After applying, students enter a vigorous interview process where around 10 applicants per year are selected. These 10 students will spend 3 years at the University of Houston and then are automatically accepted to either the University of Texas Medical School or the University of Texas Medical Branch provided that they meet all the program requirements including a 3.8 cumulative GPA, 3.7 science GPA, and score above the 80th percentile on the MCAT.

Additional requirement to apply to the ¾ Program include:

Applicants must be a Texas Resident

Minimum ACT Score of 32 or a 1460 SAT score

Applicants must take at least 2 SAT Subject Test for science (preferably chemistry and biology) and 1 SAT Subject Test for math.

Timeline

August 1st– Apply Texas and Common Application for the University of Houston open, and the application to the Honors College.